Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHow It WorksUsesBenefitsRisksLegality
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
How It Works
Uses
Benefits
Risks
Legality
If you’ve been told you could benefit from having a matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) test for yourdry eye, you may wonder exactly what that means for you. MMP-9 is an enzyme that has been linked to signs of inflammation on the surface of the eye that may be causing you discomfort.
A test can check levels of MMP-9 enzyme if your eye doctor (ophthalmologist or optometrist) suspects you have dry eye or is trying to determine how to best treat it. The test can be given in the office where you are being evaluated for your dry eye in just a few minutes.
This article will discuss the MMP-9 test, how it works, its uses, its benefits, risks, and its Food and Drug Administration (FDA) status.
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The test looks for the MMP-9 enzyme in a small sample oftears. It is a single-use, disposable test.
A wand with soft fleece on the end will be dabbed along the inside of your lower eyelid. The healthcare provider will stop between every few dabs to allow you to blink. Only six to eight dabs are needed.
The appearance of a control line indicates the test has been done right. If a test line appears, the test result is positive. This means MMP-9 levels are high enough to cause underlying inflammation on the eye’s surface.
Many people have dry eye, in which they don’t produce enough tears or the tears they make have a composition that is not quite right.Dry eye symptomssuch as the following help identify the condition:
These symptoms can be subjective. Testing for MMP-9 determines if it is elevated and guides dry eye treatment.
If testing shows that you have elevated MMP-9 levels, indicating you have dry eye-related inflammation, your healthcare provider may recommend anti-inflammatory treatments such as:
What Causes Dry Eyes All of a Sudden Without a Previous History?
Testing for elevated MMP-9 levels can help ensure your healthcare provider is using a treatment that will get to the root of your dry eye. Other dry eye tests, like tear osmolarity or Schirmer’s tear test, may show that your eyes are dry but not aid in determining the possible cause.
The benefits of MMP-9 testing are:
A positive MMP-9 test means there is inflammation in the area. Still, it doesn’t mean inflammation is necessarily from dry eye. The inflammation can be from something mechanical, such as rubbing your lid on the eye’s surface. But, the test can still point the way to getting the right diagnosis.
Those who can benefit from knowing they have elevated MMP-9 levels from dry eye include:
If the MMP-9 test is negative, but your symptoms still point to dry eye, the exam can still be of benefit. Instead of wasting time trying anti-inflammatory medication that won’t help here, you can be immediately offered the following treatments:
On rare occasions, the test may end up with a false-negative result, meaning you have high MMP-9 levels, but the test doesn’t show this. A false negative may even happen in severe cases, where levels of MMP-9 are significantly raised. The cause of a false negative may be an inadequate collection of the needed tear samples or an error in transferring the swab to the kit.
A false negative could inadvertently lead to a dry eye treatment delay or akin to what may happen without the test. You may be given treatment that doesn’t address eye inflammation.
Summary
Testing for elevated MMP-9 levels can indicate if there is inflammation on the eye’s surface causing dry eye. This can be measured with a disposable kit test that can be done in the healthcare provider’s office in around 10 minutes.
The kit measures levels of MMP-9 in the tears. Armed with information on MMP-9 levels, your healthcare provider will be able to initiate treatment in order to tamp down on inflammation that may be leading to your dry eyes.
A Word From Verywell
Even when you have all the indicators of dry eye, it may be difficult to determine what’s causing it. MMP-9 testing can give you an accurate diagnosis so you can start treatment that can help heal your dry eyes.
6 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Quidel.InflammaDry.Review of Optometry.Better target dry eye with three easy tests.Sambursky R, Davitt WF 3rd, Latkany R, et al.Sensitivity and specificity of a point-of-care matrix metalloproteinase 9 immunoassay for diagnosing inflammation related to dry eye.JAMA Ophthalmol. 2013;131(1):24-8. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2013.561Review of Ophthalmology.Putting dry eye to the test.American Academy of Ophthalmology.Evaluating MMP-9 levels may help diagnose dry eye.Food and Drug Administration.510 K summary of safety and effectiveness.Additional ReadingPark JY, Kim BG, Kim JS, Hwang JH.Matrix metalloproteinase 9 point-of-care immunoassay result predicts response to topical cyclosporine treatment in dry eye disease.Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2018;7(5):31. doi:10.1167/tvst.7.5.31
6 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Quidel.InflammaDry.Review of Optometry.Better target dry eye with three easy tests.Sambursky R, Davitt WF 3rd, Latkany R, et al.Sensitivity and specificity of a point-of-care matrix metalloproteinase 9 immunoassay for diagnosing inflammation related to dry eye.JAMA Ophthalmol. 2013;131(1):24-8. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2013.561Review of Ophthalmology.Putting dry eye to the test.American Academy of Ophthalmology.Evaluating MMP-9 levels may help diagnose dry eye.Food and Drug Administration.510 K summary of safety and effectiveness.Additional ReadingPark JY, Kim BG, Kim JS, Hwang JH.Matrix metalloproteinase 9 point-of-care immunoassay result predicts response to topical cyclosporine treatment in dry eye disease.Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2018;7(5):31. doi:10.1167/tvst.7.5.31
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Quidel.InflammaDry.Review of Optometry.Better target dry eye with three easy tests.Sambursky R, Davitt WF 3rd, Latkany R, et al.Sensitivity and specificity of a point-of-care matrix metalloproteinase 9 immunoassay for diagnosing inflammation related to dry eye.JAMA Ophthalmol. 2013;131(1):24-8. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2013.561Review of Ophthalmology.Putting dry eye to the test.American Academy of Ophthalmology.Evaluating MMP-9 levels may help diagnose dry eye.Food and Drug Administration.510 K summary of safety and effectiveness.
Quidel.InflammaDry.
Review of Optometry.Better target dry eye with three easy tests.
Sambursky R, Davitt WF 3rd, Latkany R, et al.Sensitivity and specificity of a point-of-care matrix metalloproteinase 9 immunoassay for diagnosing inflammation related to dry eye.JAMA Ophthalmol. 2013;131(1):24-8. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2013.561
Review of Ophthalmology.Putting dry eye to the test.
American Academy of Ophthalmology.Evaluating MMP-9 levels may help diagnose dry eye.
Food and Drug Administration.510 K summary of safety and effectiveness.
Park JY, Kim BG, Kim JS, Hwang JH.Matrix metalloproteinase 9 point-of-care immunoassay result predicts response to topical cyclosporine treatment in dry eye disease.Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2018;7(5):31. doi:10.1167/tvst.7.5.31
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